Well done team

By GYNNIE KERO PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has congratulated the PNG Hunters for an outstanding season representing the nation in the rugby league world – and he is already looking forward to the 2018 season. O’Neill was in Sydney yesterday to watch the PNG Hunters, the Queensland Cup champions, clash with the Penrith Panthers, the New South Wales champions. Penrith won 42-18 at ANZ Stadium. The possibility of a PNG team joining Australia’s top-flight National Rugby League competition also came up when O’Neill met his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant in Sydney yesterday. Details of their discussion were not immediately available. “While the outcome of the game yesterday could have been better, we are proud of our boys for doing so well in the 2017 season,” O’Neill said. “The Hunters have done their best through the year to be the Queensland Cup champions. They will learn from the experience of the weekend and be stronger in the 2018 season. “Rugby league is a national sport, and our people are passionate about our game. I thank the players, coaching staff and administrators, as well as the sponsors and the millions of supporters in PNG and beyond who have all been a part of the success of the Hunters in 2017. The Hunters are true ambassadors for PNG, and we look forward to the start of the 2018 season.”